Patti Burris

Luke 10:38-42

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

I am a Martha. I worry and get upset about many things and these things keep me from sitting at the feet of Jesus. I am a perfectionist. If everything is not perfect, I give up and start over. I can’t even count how many times I have started over in my attempt to read the Bible through in a year. The busyness of life would get in the way and I would give up. There is always a reason not to spend more time with Jesus, but in all reality, nothing else matters but that time sitting at the Master’s feet.

When our time comes to an end, everything else will pass away and the only thing that will matter is the time we spend with Jesus. I want to be a Mary. I want to be able to let everything else go and simply focus on my relationship with my Savior. I want to be able to let go of the busyness, the distractions, the worries and the fears and simply be able to abide in Jesus. I want to be one with Jesus. To let everything else slip away and simply BE with my Jesus.

How? How do I become a Mary in this world of chaos and distractions? It takes prioritizing our time. What can we give up in order to put Jesus first in our lives? For me technology is a big distraction that takes up too much of my time. I need to let go of my need to sit in front of my laptop and spend that time abiding with Christ.

What can you give up in order to spend more time with Jesus? What do you need to do in order to be a Mary in a Martha world? How can you make Jesus the #1 priority in your life?